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He poured his heart into the kiss. His fear. His hope. His newfound acceptance of the past he no longer had to hide and the future he couldn’t resist.
When they broke apart, Nova rested her cheek against his chest. Booth willed his heart to stop pounding so he could speak.
“Nova…” He traced her cheekbone, thumbing away a rogue tear he hoped sprang from joy, not regret. “I thought I needed to regain my old identity to find my place in this world. To be whole again.”
Her eyes flickered up, pools of emerald searching his.
“I learned that my identity isn’t about who I was. My true identity comes from God.” He brushed back a rogue curl. “But I was so focused on what I’d been that I failed to see what I could become.”
She nodded, gripped his wrist, and pressed his palm flush against her cheek.
“You were right,” Booth whispered, watching her eyes drift shut again. “There is more to life than chasing flames. And I want that too. With you.”
“Yeah?” A grin claimed Nova’s mouth. “I dunno, you’re pretty rough around the edges, Wildfire Man. Think you can keep up?”
“Count on it, Wildfire Girl.” He grinned back. “Although, if you’re gonna start talking sappy like that, I reserve the right to demand more kissing to shut you up.”
Nova burst into laughter, scrunching her nose before hauling him back into a lingering kiss.
Far too soon, Nova drew a fortifying breath and eased back a fraction. “So…what about Crispin? How does your old partner play into this?”
Booth wished he could extinguish the hint of worry banked in her question. He feathered fingers through her tangled curls. “Crispin’s still playing stubborn inmate for now. He’s stayed put in the hospital with a guard protecting him while he heals up proper. Once he’s mobile again…well, I guess all bets are off.”
Nova didn’t miss the hitch beneath his breezy tone. “But…”
Booth sighed and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “I know Crispin. He’s getting anxious to slip those leashes again,” he said against her crown. “And I’m sure as Montana wildfire he’ll leave me behind to go all lone wolf and chase Floyd by himself, just like every other fool notion he’s had over the years.”
“If he’s really that determined, how do you stop someone like that? Or is this where I get ready for your disappearing act too?”
The fear laced through her wry joke hinted at the kind of pain he never wanted to inflict upon her again.
He drew back and looked down at her. “There won’t be any more vanishing acts from me, Nova.”
“Just like that? You’re giving up your old life?”
“Not exactly.” Booth sighed. “I can’t promise I won’t help catch bad guys. It’s in my bones the way firefighting is in yours. But I can promise, no more running off and leaving you in the dark. No more secrets.”
“We can have some secrets.” Nova grinned. “Birthdays, holidays. Special surprise things like that.”
“Have I told you how much I hate surprises,” he murmured, pulling Nova close.
She huffed a laugh. After a long moment she asked, “What’s next?”
Booth faced her fully. In her eyes he could see his future. Him on one knee with a solitaire diamond and a question. Nova in white, kissing him for the first time as his wife in front of their friends. Booth holding their first child in his arms, and Nova with sweaty red curls plastered to her face, never having looked more beautiful.
“You, Wildfire Girl. You’re my future. Every sunrise and sunset from now on. You’re all the future I need.” One thumb brushed fiery curls from her cheek. “If you’ll have me.”
Nova looked up at him. Her eyes shone with understanding as her head bobbed. “Yes. A thousand times, yes.”
He kissed her again, sealing their new beginning.
Booth turned them to face the sliver of sun disappearing behind the mountains.
A shiver ran down his spine.
Out there lay uncertainty. Crispin’s impulsive pursuits. Floyd’s unfinished agenda. Henry’s hidden nuke. Even the unknown assassins still hunting the remnants of Booth’s former identity.
The fight was far from over.
A fierce protectiveness surged through him, and he pulled Nova tighter. This newfound peace was too precious, too fragile.
Booth had just discovered his true identity and wasn’t about to let anyone, or anything, take it away.